Mrs. Button's 3rd grade class practices carefully for their violin demonstration. Mrs. Koller's 3rd Grade class and Mrs. Ferris demonstrate how to properly hold a violin. Students share out with families, even teaching them to play a tune! In the EWSD, we are extremely fortunate to have a successful 3-12 strings program. All of our students are exposed to basic violin instruction early on, in the hopes that many will either want to continue a string instrument in the 4/5 orchestra, or to even just have the amazing opportunity of the learning of an instrument.
The unit is 7 weeks long, and our violins are rented from Vermont Violins in Burlington, Vermont. The students learn the parts of the violin, as well as how to play pizzicato, and with the bow. Students learn the knowledge of the open strings, as well as how to play other notes at a basic level in a few positions. If they choose in 4th grade to join the orchestra with Mr. Valyou, they will have the choice of violin, viola, cello, or the double bass. Students receive information concerning this at the start of 4th grade in their music class. The unit is complete with a demonstration for parents to come and observe if able. All of our demonstrations this year were wonderful, and the students did very well. I look forward to seeing which students try their hand at orchestra next year!
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This past December, all classes (in their own time) earned a Music Games Day! Our stations this round are Musical Twister, the famous SIMON game, puzzles and a musical word search, as well as Chromebook music games through musictechteacher.com!
Each class was split up into small groups, and everyone experienced each station. This was for fun, yes, but also, this helped classes to practice team work and practicing social skills in the music classroom. Throughout music class in December, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will all participate in our yearly recorder unit. If your child ordered a recorder, they will receive it after the break during their first music class of the week.
During this unit, students will move at their own pace through a 'Recorder Hero' packet that contains many songs varying in ability. The songs start out easy, and get harder as you go on. Students will have time for group, as well as individual practice. In preparation for our next unit (recorders) our students have been reviewing the treble clef line and space notes! Pictured above are Eva and Rebecca from Mr. Acanfora's 5th grade class!
What do students do once they finish their classwork in Mrs. Ferris' room? Well, new this year in the music classroom is a puzzle table with music themed puzzles! Once students complete their responsibilities in music, they are allowed to choose to work on the puzzle, or something else quietly as others are finishing their work.
In observing the puzzle completion, I have witnessed the following skills being practiced as students complete the puzzle:
I look forward to this puzzle being completed so we can move onto the next wonderful one! Listening is an extremely vital part of music class. Listening Glyphs are a way to evaluate whether a student has a firm understanding of learned concepts, instrumentation, and basic music theory through color. We have a system for each Listening Glyph that should improve over time as far as transitions, and listening skills.
How to Use Listening Glyphs 1. DISCUSS COMPOSER - First, we discuss the composer, and I share a few fun facts about them. I also talk about their personal lives, as well as sharing a picture of each composer. 2. GET SUPPLIES - I then pass out their listening glyph, and they walk to get three items, a clipboard, a pencil, and the listed colors. (Per listening glyph, I make a list of colors they need so they can choose from the crayon bin efficiently). 3. WRITE DOWN NEEDED INFORMATION - Students are then asked to sit back in their spots, write down their name, the composer, as well as the title of the piece. I make sure each student has done this before we begin playing the song. 4. READ THROUGH THE GLYPH - Students must first read through the glyph to figure out exactly what they should be listening for. This is also the time for any last minute questions students may have that could benefit the whole group. 5. LISTENING - I play the piece, usually twice if it is not long enough. Students are expected to silently listen, and then begin coloring about 1 minute into the piece. I set aside at least 10 minutes for this part of the listening glyph work just so everyone has time to truly listen, and do their best work. These are checked for general understanding of concepts. All students began a percussion unit this week where we use an instrument called a 'Boomwhacker.' These instruments vary in size and color, representing both diatonic and chromatic notes. Each class, students choose are first asked to review the ways in which we play a Boomwhacker correctly. Teachers and students model and explain this at the start of every class where a Boomwhacker will be played. Students then are asked to silently watch a Musication Youtube video that is a song for us to play with. (An example is shown below). After reviewing the notes and choosing their instrument, students go back to their spots on the carpet, and have a few chances to try their hand at the song of the day. I always ask that students listen carefully to the music as well as their fellow classmates, as this will improve their own playing over time. This unit encompasses our National Common Core Arts Standards of Presentation and Performance as students are:
5th graders from Mr. Acanfora's class try their hand at 'We Speak No Americano.' Students in music have been strutting their stuff through Just Dance movement play! This allows students to not only have fun with classmates, but they also can feel the beat, and practice mirroring directions on the Smart Board. During this time, students may try their best at the moves for different Just Dance songs on YouTube. Just Dance was a popular Wii game turned YouTube resource! Students are not actually playing the game, they are merely copying what the characters do on screen to the best of their ability. Just Dance is usually saved for a movement break, or the end of music class. 4th graders from Mrs. Legris' class move to Rocky Horror Picture Show's 'Time Warp.' Autumn is a WONDERFUL time for music! The amount of repertoire available for the months of September, October, and November are perfect for our picturesque state of Vermont.
Our 3rd grade students from Mrs. Button's class first listened to the song titled 'Down, Down,' then were taught by rote how to sing each line. Once students understood the melody, we incorporated many colored scarves to demonstrate when the scale was descending or ascending as we sang. This helps with pitch recognition (high versus low) as well as incorporating movement so they can really 'feel' the music. Our next step will be to decipher the rhythm! All grades are currently learning several autumn themed songs, as well as reviewing, or being introduced to basic rhythms at appropriate grade levels. We will continue to learn songs throughout the year to not only sing and enjoy, but to develop a sense of understanding concerning rhythms and treble clef notes. |